1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tub toy receptacle for use in connection with storing items normally used for children""s baths. The tub toy receptacle has particular utility in connection with storing wet toys such that they may dry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tub toy receptacles are desirable for storing wet toys in a way that they can dry while being gathered to give the bath tub a neat appearance. However, such receptacles may only be useful if they are used. Consequently, a tub toy receptacle having a xe2x80x9cchild-pleasingxe2x80x9d design is desirable as a child will be more likely to use it.
The use of toy storage units is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,003 to Springer discloses a bath toy storage unit that has a storage chamber that stores bath toys for tidy clean up after a bath.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,490 to Leach discloses a bath entertainment center that provides an interactive surface on the inside of a bathtub where toys can be removably attached. The entertainment center is designed to substantially cover an inside wall, a ledge, and an outside wall of a bathtub. However, the Leach ""490 patent does not include a base upon which is mounted a tub-edge hook and a toy receptacle configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,971 to Hazan discloses a combination handbag and toy that has a container that supports part of the toy. However, the Hazan ""971 patent does not include a base upon which is mounted a tub-edge hook and a toy receptacle configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,564 to Carroll discloses a bath and shower splashguard that can store articles used in bathing. However, the Carroll ""564 patent does not include a base upon which is mounted a tub-edge hook and a toy receptacle configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 265,152 to Bruno et al. discloses a toy holder for use in bathtubs, showers or the like. However, the Bruno et al. ""152 patent does not appear to disclose all the features described in the instant application.
Lastly, U.S. Design Pat. No. 316,646 to Cunningham discloses a bathtub caddy that appears as though it may accommodate toys. However, the Cunningham ""646 patent does not appear to disclose all the features described in the instant application.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a tub toy receptacle that allows for storage of toys within a character-shaped device. The Leach ""490 patent makes no provision for storage of toys within a character-shaped device configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved tub toy receptacle that can be used for storage of toys within a character-shaped device configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the tub toy receptacle according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of storage of toys within a character-shaped device configured to hang upon the bathtub sidewall.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of toy storage units now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved tub toy receptacle, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved tub toy receptacle which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a tub toy receptacle which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a receptacle base having an integrated hook and toy receptacle, where the combination is formed in the shape of a child-pleasing character or figure.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include means to adjust the length of the hook or the volume and shape of the receptacle. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved tub toy receptacle that has all of the advantages of the prior art toy storage units and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved tub toy receptacle that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved tub toy receptacle that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such tub toy receptacle economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new tub toy receptacle that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of encouraging children to pick up and put away their bathtub toys.